How does the court veiw the following. Mother moved out of the mariaital home in June and left care of 14 year old minor with father in marital home. Child has visted with mother any time he wants but has mostly been limited to weekends. There has been no over night stays with mother, childs preference. There is no custody agreement yet and now mother is seeking tempory cutody. Father has been and contiues to be primary care giver. The child has stated repeatly he wants to stay primarily with the father. He said he would testify if he needs to. Based on the above how do the courts normally decide custody.
Courts consider all factors which relate to the best interests of the child when making a determination of custody. Normally the court finds that the child remaining with the primary caregiver most of the time is in the child’s best interests, while of course allowing for sufficient visitation with the other parent. As for your child’s testimony, judges typically do not allow children to testify in court, but may hear from a child of an appropriate age level and maturity privately in chambers when he or she believes such a conversation would be beneficial to the decision making process and would not be unduly difficult for the child to do.
The status quo can also be presented in court as evidence to the child’s current routine and is indicative of his preference.
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